Author: Frederik Hammes
This bit of early morning argumentation is primarily aimed at researchers working in the field of (drinking water) plumbing in buildings. My motivation for writing this: (1) I really like the power and possibilities of language, and (2) I am intrigued how scientific papers have the ability to unwittingly propagate error.
The facts:
Many wrongs don’t make it right:
I will confess my own sins first: I erroneously used the terminology “premise plumbing” in papers (e.g. Proctor & Hammes, 2015, Current Opinion In Biotechnology), websites (e.g., microbi-home, no being edited) and conference workshops. Luckily I am not even remotely alone in these erroneous ways. A quick search of GoogleScholar revealed about 550 hits (1995 – present) for the use of “premise plumbing” in scientific literature. In fact, I apparently find myself in rather classy academic company e.g.
I now have to acknowledge colleague and rapid search guru Dr. Tim Julian for some of the historical links here below... It seem that the questionable use of “premise plumbing” was introduced into scientific literature at least already in a 1976 report by the Seattle Washington Water Department:
(https://books.google.ch/books?id=O9XnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22premise+plumbing%22&dq=%22premise+plumbing%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y)
The American Water Works Association then references the report (and terminology) in the proceedings of the 1978 conference (New laboratory tools for quality control in water treatment and distribution: presented at the 6th annual AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, December 3-6, 1978, Louisville, Kentucky : proceedings):
(https://books.google.ch/books?id=Vnk1AQAAIAAJ&q=%22premise+plumbing%22&dq=%22premise+plumbing%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y)
Some got it right:
Not everyone is wrong though. GoogleScholar gives about 20 hits (1995 – present) for “premises plumbing” (compared to the 550 hits for “premise plumbing” (above)!). E.g.:
Interestingly, the error is seemingly largely present in peer reviewed scientific literature (seriously suggesting either error propagation or that scientists are less smart than average Wikipedia users):
So here are the words, their meanings and origins:
(Information collected from Dictionary.com and Cambridge Dictionaries Online)
Premise:
Premises:
So, no matter how you argue this one, it is “premises plumbing”, not “premise plumbing”.
Comments or vicious rebuttals are more than welcome...
This bit of early morning argumentation is primarily aimed at researchers working in the field of (drinking water) plumbing in buildings. My motivation for writing this: (1) I really like the power and possibilities of language, and (2) I am intrigued how scientific papers have the ability to unwittingly propagate error.
The facts:
- The terminology “premise plumbing” is wrong;
- The terminology “premises plumbing” or “building plumbing” is correct;
- The difference may look small, but it is considerable to say the least;
- Repeating the wrong terminology does not make it right;
- If you do not want to read all the super-interesting bla-bla-bla below, just scroll all the way to the bottom or Google-dictionary the terms “premise” and “premises”.
Many wrongs don’t make it right:
I will confess my own sins first: I erroneously used the terminology “premise plumbing” in papers (e.g. Proctor & Hammes, 2015, Current Opinion In Biotechnology), websites (e.g., microbi-home, no being edited) and conference workshops. Luckily I am not even remotely alone in these erroneous ways. A quick search of GoogleScholar revealed about 550 hits (1995 – present) for the use of “premise plumbing” in scientific literature. In fact, I apparently find myself in rather classy academic company e.g.
- Zhang, Y.; Griffin, A.; Edwards, M. Nitrification in premise plumbing: Role of phosphate, pH and pipe corrosion Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42 ( 12) 4280– 4284
- Buse HY, Ashbolt NJ. 2011. Differential growth of Legionella pneumophila strains within a range of amoebae at various temperatures associated with in-premise plumbing. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 53: 217–224.
- Santillana, G., Smith, H. J., Burr, M., & Camper, A. K. (2016). Archaeal Ammonium Oxidation Coupled with Bacterial Nitrite Oxidation in a Simulated Drinking Water Premise Plumbing System. Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology.
I now have to acknowledge colleague and rapid search guru Dr. Tim Julian for some of the historical links here below... It seem that the questionable use of “premise plumbing” was introduced into scientific literature at least already in a 1976 report by the Seattle Washington Water Department:
(https://books.google.ch/books?id=O9XnAAAAMAAJ&q=%22premise+plumbing%22&dq=%22premise+plumbing%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y)
The American Water Works Association then references the report (and terminology) in the proceedings of the 1978 conference (New laboratory tools for quality control in water treatment and distribution: presented at the 6th annual AWWA Water Quality Technology Conference, December 3-6, 1978, Louisville, Kentucky : proceedings):
(https://books.google.ch/books?id=Vnk1AQAAIAAJ&q=%22premise+plumbing%22&dq=%22premise+plumbing%22&hl=en&sa=X&redir_esc=y)
Some got it right:
Not everyone is wrong though. GoogleScholar gives about 20 hits (1995 – present) for “premises plumbing” (compared to the 550 hits for “premise plumbing” (above)!). E.g.:
- M. S. Rahman, G. Encarnacion and A. K. Camper, Nitrification and potential control mechanisms in simulated premises plumbing, Water Res., 2011, 45, 5511–5522
Interestingly, the error is seemingly largely present in peer reviewed scientific literature (seriously suggesting either error propagation or that scientists are less smart than average Wikipedia users):
- Bacteria have been shown to live in "premises plumbing systems". The latter refers to the "pipes and fixtures within a building that transport water to taps after it is delivered by the utility"
- On-premises software (sometimes abbreviated as "on-prem", or erroneously as "on-premise") is installed and runs on computers on the premises (in the building) of the person or organization using the software
So here are the words, their meanings and origins:
(Information collected from Dictionary.com and Cambridge Dictionaries Online)
Premise:
- An idea or theory on which a statement or action is based.
- A proposition supporting or helping to support a conclusion.
- A basis, stated or assumed, on which reasoning proceeds.
Premises:
- The land and buildings owned by someone, especially by a company or organization:
- A tract of land including its buildings.
- A building together with its grounds or other appurtenances.
- The property forming the subject of a conveyance or bequest.
So, no matter how you argue this one, it is “premises plumbing”, not “premise plumbing”.
Comments or vicious rebuttals are more than welcome...